Spring In The Fylde
As Spring has sprung and the days get longer, Tim Dixon, Fylde Council’s Tourism and Cultural Services Manager, highlights what’s on in the Fylde
Spring is always a great time to be out and about here in the Fylde – the blossoms on the trees, the warmer weather, picnics in the park or on Lytham Green for example. Time on the beach, a walk along the coast such as Promenade Gardens in St Annes or the grounds of Lytham Hall, a day in the fantastic St Annes Beach Huts and so much more. New this year and well worth a visit is the new free to visit Fylde Gallery at Lytham Hall – open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays 10am to 4pm. This offers the chance to see some of the paintings in the Lytham St Annes Art Collection, celebrating its 100th year in 2025. These paintings are normally on show at Fylde Council Town Hall in St Annes and only able to be seen on Heritage Open Days each autumn.
However, this new facility has a year-round exhibition programme – at present there is an exhibition entitled Centenary celebrating 100 years of the art collection and from mid-May, there’s an exhibition entitled Savage Beauty featuring paintings by Richard Ansdell who has a strong local connection (the area of Ansdell was even named after him). More details can be found on the website.
Coming soon too is the new multi-million-pound state of the art extension at the Lowther Pavilion – The Windmill Performance & Education Centre Studio, which offers a new community space, an outdoor classroom and so much more. It’s been coming together over the past few years and this really will be a leap forward for the only dedicated theatre in Fylde Borough. Keep an eye on the Lowther Pavilion website for more details and programmed performances.
At Fairhaven Lake and Gardens there’s a new jetty to improve the boat service with more work planned over the coming year around the lake, including new fencing and improvements to the buildings. Plus, there’s the lighting of the beacon on the evening of 8th to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a planned programme of entertainment too. Keep an eye on the website for the range of upcoming activities and events at Fairhaven Lake – the team there work hard to put on a programme to cater for a wide audience and again this year among many events, there’s the popular Dragon Boat Racing back on 17th May in partnership with the Blue Skies Charity.
And congratulations must go to the recent winners in Fylde at the Lancashire Tourism Awards – The Spitfire Visitor Centre at Blackpool Airport, Staining Lodge Golf Course and the Folk, Roots & Maritime Festival at the Lowther Pavilion, plus a host of other finalists including Ribby Hall Village and the Lytham 1940s Weekend.
For more information on what’s coming up, or things to do, visit: discoverfylde.co.uk
